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Zodiac Corporation
The Zodiac Corporation serves as the antagonistic force during the second arc in the audio dramas of R5 Central. Led by Bastion Solatere, "The Zodiac", as Mike calls them, have been leaders in advances in technology but have a background in black market munitions deals. __TOC__ 'SUMMARY' The Zodiac Corporation, led by rising entrepeneur Bastion Solatere, was born out of a industrial coup of another company. They are known for being three-parts think tank, two-parts technology leader. While their list of total contributions is something of a secret, their reputation was enough to warrant Bill Gates trying to buy out the company in its early years. The other side of the Zodiac is that of black market dealings. Helping to upgrade munitions and breeding conflict for reasons known, the Zodiac makes most of its profit behind the scenes. Anybody that has stumbled upon this side of the corporation has never lived to tell the tale. During Series 2 of R5 Central, Bastion became interested in Mike and his future technology. He believed that with the Zodiac's resources, the two of them could save lives and make the future a better place. Mike rejected all of his e-mail proposals until finally, after his return with Jade following the destruction of Gestalt, Bastion arranged for him to be kidnapped. After his continued refusal, Bastion arranged a neural implant surgically placed him his head. Codenamed the N2 or "Nightmare Nostalgia", the implant, when activated, would cause Mike to be bombarded by flashes of every possible bad memory stored away in his mind. Due to the stress, the N2 effectively paralyzed Mike, this becoming a trump card for the Zodiac in later entanglements. Mike would be returned to the spot where he last left Jade, a week passing with him retaining no memory of the surgery or his kidnapping. The Zodiac would try again in their efforts at Anime Central 2007, with Mike being confronted by Silvia Aegen and Toren Roberts of the Board. (Series 2, Episode 40.5.2) Mike would once again refuse. Things were further complicated when Toren threatened to level the entire convention with a rebuilt Armagod. With new arsenal in tow (thanks to Jade back in the year 5000) Mike managed to defeat the Armagod and save the convention. From then on, Mike would find himself waging a one-man war against the Zodiac, with countless conflicts. The final outcome of this conflict remains classified for the time being. Chronological Appearances in R5 Central *Episode 40.5.2 (Series 2) *Episode 44.5 (Series 2) *Autumn Blitz (Series 2) *Vox Gaiden (Series 4) *Inner Works *Final 1 - Siren (Series 4) *Final 2 - Paradise Lost (Series 4) *Final 3 - Showdown (Series 4) Category:Villains 'MEMBERS' At the top of the Zodiac Corporation is The Board--a group of hand-picked professionals, each excelling in his or her own field. At the same time, they act as the corporation's enforcers with a majority of the members having been modified via nano-therapy to wield different techniques and powers. Those that are also have the capability of summoning Enhance Frames which manifest into various customized mecha. Bastion Solatere *CV: David Ault *SIGN: Leo *ENHANCE FRAME: EF-05 Sol-Leon The head of the Zodiac Corpoation and one of the most brilliant minds in the business world. Not much is known about his past, the bulk of it covered up. Within 10 years, Bastion managed to successfully build up the Zodiac Corporation from the ground-up, staging a decisive coup of another company to do it. Of Bastion's personality, he can be charming and quite persuasive if need be. He rarely loses his cool, even in the toughest of situations--a trait that has come in handy many times. He has a keen interest in the future, making it happen and also getting there by any means necessary, especially if it means extracting information for it by force. In terms of love interests, he is currently having an affair with Silvia Aegen, his personal assistant. However, it is believed that he is also seeing the Board member known as "Siren".... His Enhance Frame, Sol-Leon, like Silvia's is merely a powered suit of armor. It grants him flight capabilities, enhanced strength, and flame-based energy weapons. Silvia Aegen *CV: Laura Post *SIGN: Capricorn *ENHANCE FRAME: EF-10 Cassian-S *Appears in Episode 41.5.2 and 44.5, and 55.3 of R5 Central and the side-story, "Inner Works" Silvia entered the Zodiac Corporation following college after a very promising semester as an intern. Along with her friends Villeta and Toren, Silvia would find a place on The Board as the head of Public Relations but would eventually become Bastion's personal assistant. Methodical, cool-headed, and always in control, Silvia originally worked in PR before becoming Bastion's personal assistant, maintaining the company's public image amidst the violence and chaos behind closed doors. Secretly, she and Bastion have been having an affair, one that started during her original internship. Since then, she's fallen in love with her employer but feels unrequited, considering Bastion's devotion to the Board member code-named "Siren". In spite of this, she remains faithful and loyal to him to the bitter end. Though she lacks in enhanced abilities, she was among the first to receive an Enhance Frame with her custom battle armor, Cassian-S. Toren Roberts *CV: Ty Konzak *SIGN: Taurus *ENHANCE FRAME: EF-02 Diamond-Crush *Appears in Episodes 41.5.2 and 44.5 of R5 Central and the side-story, "Inner Works" Toren is the very hot-headed, mildly tempered member of the Board and best friend to Silvia and Villeta. Entering the company around the same time as his two friends, Toren's aggressive nature quickly gained him a reputation for Bastion's best businessman and trader, able to bring even the most stubborn of clients down a peg. Behind the scenes, Toren acts as Bastion's enforcer in the realm of corporate espionage. Though he may seem intimidating, he is often called the "Gentle Bull" teasingly by Villeta who is one of the only two people he has ever opened up to. The other being Silvia whom he has had romantic feelings for since they met in college. (To this day, Silvia breaks out laughing at their first meeting while he was in the midst of Dorm Hallway Mattress Jousting.) He and Silvia were the first two members of the Zodiac Corp. who met Mike following the destruction of Gestalt. His temper got the better of him and led to the initial proposal to go sour once he started threatening to destroy Anime Central. The resulting failure led to a thirst for revenge, a thirst that would be quenched following another attempt to bring Mike into the fold during his second-year anniversary celebration. (R5-Series 2, Ep 44.5). His battle with Mike would unfortunately be cut short as he was shot and killed by Sylene's Plasma Derringer, dying in Silvia's arms. His enhanced abilities gave him berserker-like strength, akin to something of a human wrecking ball. His Enhance Frame, Diamond-Crush remained untested and was never seen out of the testing grounds. Villeta Mercury *CV: Betsy *SIGN: Virgo *ENHANCE FRAME: N/A Head of the Zodiac's Research and Development Department, Villeta is one of the more sarcastic and somewhat cynical members of The Board. Entering at around the same time as her friends Silvia and Toren, Villeta's expertise in robotics, nanotechnology, and quantum physics made her Bastion's top pick for the job. Slowly, she started to realize that the job wasn't all it was cracked up to be when she saw how it started to change her friends for the worse. She was the first to notice Silvia's affair with Bastion and had urged her to be careful with him. Upon discovering Bastion's personal files, she saw the company for what it was and drifted apart from her best friends, trapped knowing that she couldn't just up and leave. With Bastion's war against Mike, Villeta saw her chance and started to aid Mike and his allies anonymously with intel. While Mike and co. welcome the help, there's a sneaking suspicion that there's more to her activities than she's letting on. One of the few members to refuse an Enhance Frame. Claire Fontaine *CV: Merodi *SIGN: Libra *ENHANCE FRAME:EF-07 RaVenus *Appears in Episode 44.5 of R5 Central and the side-story, "Inner Works" One of the youngest members of The Board, Claire is brought on as a Web Consultant for the Marketing Department. Behind the scenes, she serves as Bastion's personal hacker, able to cover up any information trails and help steal data to secure deals for the company. After receiving her Enhance Frame, Claire quickly found herself facing off against Mike and Sylene. Unfortunately, she was destroyed by DaiRaiGou's Nekketsu Voice attack, appearing just once more in the core of Ragnarok. Alice/Robert *CVs: Aibrean and Seshiro17 *SIGN: Gemini *ENHANCE FRAME: EF-03 Ka'Gan *Appears in Autumn Blitz, "Siren", and the side-story, "Inner Works" Alice and Robert were two of the top leading members of the Zodiac's R&D Department. During an experiment to try and duplicate the D-Transfer teleportation technology, a freak accident alters the both of them, merging the two of them so that they can only occupy the same point in time in a state of constant flux. To help stabilize them, Villeta has developed a Flux Stabilizer that helps prevent the two of them from pulling each other out of existence. However, even with the Stabilizer, the two of them can have traumatic episodes where the flux becomes more violent. These are typically introduced by stress. With their Enhance Frame, Ka'Gan, they are able to exist as separate entities again due to its core somehow helping sustain their forms. Using a mirror motif, Ka'Gan can manipulate reflections and even seal foes inside its own pocket dimension. For even greater accuracy, Ka'Gan can split up into two mechs for short periods of time. Both Alice and Robert are eventually destroyed by RaiKaiser, reappearing once more in the core of Ragnarok. Miss Sapphire/Ai *CV: Haushinka *SIGN: Aquarius *ENHANCE FRAME: N/A For character info, see entry on Ai. Miss Infer'/Ami *CV: Georgette Perna (Ep 44.5), Merodi (Current) *SIGN: Aries *ENHANCE FRAME: ????? For character info, see entry on Ami Miss Siren *CV: ????? *SIGN: Pisces *ENHANCE FRAME: ????? Adonis Smith *CV: The Great Mr. Chibi *SIGN: Cancer *ENHANCE FRAME: EF-04 Rubicon *Appears in Autumn Blitz Part 2 and the side-story, "Inner Works" Some might say that Adonis Smith is one of the more vain members of the Board. Working in the PR department, Adonis has gained the ability to create pocket dimensions and even distort reality on a small scale. He mainly uses this ability to dispose of people who would otherwise harm the Zodiac's public image. With his Enhance Frame, Rubicon, Adonis is capable of channeling the full potential of his abilities, being able to actually create pocket dimensions and even alter the fabric of reality. The catch of the ability, however, is that too great an alteration could result in permanent brain damage due to the resulting mental stress it causes. Adonis would prove to be a critical asset to the Zodiac Corp. before being destroyed by DaiRaiGou GranDelta's Revolver Break. Adonis would appear once more in the core of the Ragnarok. Gren Pike *CV: Nick Tiner *SIGN: Scorpio *ENHANCE FRAME: EF-03 Scorpio *Appears in Autumn Blitz - Part 1 and the side-story, "Inner Works" Gren was an up and coming member of the Zodiac before getting caught up in the accident that caused Alice and Robert's dimensional flux. It was believed that he had been vaporized by the energy blast but as it turns out, Bastion had him built into one of the first Enhance Frames, grafted into the cockpit in a grotesque fusion of human and machine. He is ultimately destroyed by DaiRaiGou GranDelta, sacrificing himself to save Ai/Sapphire. 'NOTES' *'The Zodiac hold the record for the longest villain run on R5', spanning three series. *'A good portion of the members are named after various aspects of their signs'. For example, Silvia's name comes from Silver, the color associated with Capricorn, Toren is derived from Taurus, and so on. *'To date, the conclusion has yet to be aired or "declassified"'. Due to various technical errors which halted the remainder of Series 4, the final three episodes had to be delayed. This has been worked into the story arc of Series 5 as the team not wanting to talk about it yet. Category:Original Mecha Category:Audio Drama Category:Podcasts